“We may see the floodgates open for perhaps less nutritious foods.  There’s nothing [in the House bill] that would stop fruit cups with syrup or frozen Tater Tots with sodium. You just don’t get those problems with fresh.”
~Matthew Marsom, a vice president at the Public Health Institute 

I often hear conservatives throwing this attack at President Obama … they say “President Obama doesn’t believe America is exceptional” blah blah blah.  So – conservatism is supposed to be synonymous with American exceptionalism and thus the American flag, apple pie etc.  But I find it so troubling that their rhetoric speaks of American exceptionalism … and yet their deeds produce the exact opposite.

There is nothing exceptional about cutting funding for schools so kids can’t eat fresh fruit.

There is nothing exceptional about  cutting free lunch programs so kids can’t eat at school. (source)

There is nothing exceptional about eliminating early education programs for kids to start learning at an early age. source

There is nothing exceptional about allowing 7 million kids to live in extreme poverty in the richest country in the world.  source

And there is nothing exceptional about making all of these cuts in order to give an average of $265k for the average American millionaire.  (source) and  (source)

The Washington Post writes HERE:

Are canned pears the nutritional equivalent of a juicy fruit off the tree? House Republicans seem to think so. And their proposal to tinker with a program that serves fresh fruit and vegetables to children in select schools has touched off the ultimate food fight.

As Congress debates whether to renew farm legislation, the Senate is pressing to keep the program limited to fresh produce. The House, however, has proposed making room for frozen, canned and dried produce — agitating program supporters and pitting factions of the food industry against one another in a bout of frenetic lobbying.

Since its creation a decade ago, the tiny program has been distributing free fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks to elementary schools that have a high percentage of low-income children, a group that typically has less exposure to fresh produce and does not consume anywhere near the amount recommended by national dietary guidelines.

This is where it starts.  This is how burger joints like Burger King and McDonalds go from selling 100% real meat to a 60/40 meat/filler ratio feeding people with some kind of Frankenstein food product in the name of lower prices and with the unfortunate side affect of bigger waistlines.  To cut funding for fresh fruit from the school budget … you’re opening Pandora’s box to a whole host of food like products that are not nutritional all in the name of saving money.  Our kids will only get sicker and the really poor school districts will really be screwed.  And don’t kid yourself … frozen foods are not nearly as nutritional as fresh fruits … that’s false on its face.

This is the kind of stuff conservatives have to stop paying for in order to pay for their tax cuts for millionaires … or as they talk about it on the campaign trail – waste, fraud and abuse … ya know bigger government.

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